Chapter 14 - The Final Toast
"You're late for dinner, Dominic," Elena said softly, her voice smooth and unperturbed by the corpses cooling in other parts of the estate.
"Antonio always did lack table manners when he lost his temper."
I walked slowly toward the head of the table, pulling out the chair directly opposite her, and sat down.
"Where is Julian?" I asked, my voice terrifyingly calm.
"San Antonio," she replied, taking a slow sip of her tea.
"Or perhaps Mexico."
"Does it matter?"
"He failed."
"A man who fails to secure a simple execution does not deserve to bear the Moretti name."
"Just like your father," she added, her dark eyes finally lifting to meet mine with chilling indifference.
"Your father wanted to turn this family into a legitimate real estate syndicate."
"He wanted to play businessman, pay taxes, and bow to federal judges."
"Weakness, Dominic."
"Pure, unadulterated weakness."
"And Madison?" I asked, leaning forward across the table, my eyes locked onto hers.
"Did you think starving her on the streets would keep her silent forever?"
Elena let out a delicate, musical laugh, setting her teacup down on its saucer without a single splash.
"Madison was a sentimental fool."
"She thought by throwing away her life, she could preserve yours."
"She traded her youth, her beauty, and her sanity for a man who spent four years hating her."
"And yet," Elena tilted her head, a cold smile touching her lips, "here you are, sitting across from me, ready to kill your own mother over a stray dog."
"She wasn't a stray dog," I said, standing up slowly.
"She was the only human being left in this family."
I reached into my breast pocket, pulled out the half of the cinnamon roll wrapped in its grease-stained paper napkin, and slammed it down flat on the polished mahogany table between us.
Elena stared down at the dirty napkin, her aristocratic facade finally cracking just a fraction.
"What is that filth?" she sneered.
"That," I whispered, drawing my Glock and laying it softly on the wood beside the pastry, "is the only meal my wife ate today."
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"Because you stole her money, her career, her home, and her dignity."
"And now, mother, your dinner is served."
